Women in Leadership Forum concludes with “Women in the Life of the Church” panel

 

The final event of the Notre Dame Forum on Women in Leadership, “Women in the Life of the Church,” took place on April 3.

The panel featured Kathleen Sprows Cummings, director of the Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism and Associate Professor of American Studies; Father Matt Malone, SJ, editor-in-chief of America; Kerry Alys Robinson, executive director of the National Leadership Roundtable on Church Management; Annie Selak, Walsh Hall rector and lay minister; and Sister Ann Astell, Professor of Theology.

Father John Jenkins, CSC, introduced the panel. Although the ordination of women was a closed topic, he began, Pope Francis called for “more opportunities for incisive female leadership in the Church and in social structures” in Evangelii Gaudium.

NBC news correspondent and Notre Dame alumna Anne Thompson moderated the discussion, and first asked, “Is there a change in the Vatican regarding opportunity for women?”

According to Cummings, Pope Francis seems to have restarted the conversation about the essential role of women within the life of the Church. She echoed his sentiment in calling for a development of a “profound theology of womanhood.”

Robinson concurred, but asserted that this movement really began under Pope Benedict XVI. Whenever she and her colleagues visited with him and other cardinals in the Roman Curia, they were extremely well-received, and these Church leaders were open to their concerns and suggestions.

For Robinson, this openness is crucial, especially because she has found that whenever a “young Catholic woman, particularly from the West, looks out on her life, she knows that she can reach high levels of leadership in any sector or industry. But when that same woman discerns a vocation of service to the Church, she is more often met with limitations on her leadership.” Thus alienated, she turns to the secular world where she can theoretically excel, and when that happens, “the Church is impoverished.”

Providing a more theological perspective, Sr. Astell spoke about the unity of the Church in the one Mystical Body of Christ, particularly in relation to the Petrine and Marian principles, which express the integral relationship between the institutional Church in terms of apostolic succession to St. Peter and the constant renewal of the Church’s charism under the mantle of Mary, the Mother of God. Without the Marian component, the Church would cease to exist in unity with Christ’s Body.

Father Malone explained how Pope Francis asserted that Mary is more important than the bishops, and also concluded that Mary Magdalene deserves similar status: “She was the Church at that moment” when she learned of the Resurrection. He further stated that although many people attribute the lack of women in Church leadership to patriarchy and sexism, every office not requiring ordination is open to women. He questioned, “Why can’t a layperson or a woman be a papal ambassador, diocesan administrator, rector of a seminary, or head of Vatican committees?”

When asked about how people with whom she works in her ministry respond to the question of women in Church leadership, Selak said that there are generally two schools of thought: “Some see a lack of female leadership and say, ‘No, the Church isn’t for me,’” and others “don’t even know there’s an issue.”

In response to this problem, Cummings said “small, symbolic changes can make a world of difference,” and such stories should be propagated. Selak provided the ultimate question of this discussion: “Who is Church, what is Church, and what do we mean by ‘run it’?”

At this point, Thompson turned to the audience for questions. One audience member explained that as a lay minister, she sometimes experiences an identity crisis in her vocation to the Church. Moved by her dedication, Robinson thanked her, saying, “No one is going to externally validate your vocation. Just live it. Show that you are so in love with Catholicism. Own your own vocation without seeking the external affirmation. Let it be a continual well of nurturing; live joyfully and confidently.”

Notre Dame seniors Jennifer Gallic and Caitlin O’Connell offered positive feedback to the Rover about the panel.

“It is good to have diverse people in leadership and dialogue in order to address issues from multiple sides,” O’Connell said. “I think it is very true that most women don’t give entering the Church much thought because there are no examples of women in public leadership roles in the Church. It can be thought of as a ‘men only’ club.”

Gallic said, “I do think that Pope Benedict and Pope Francis have opened up a lot of doors. Women are now on panels advising the Pope, they are taking over more responsibilities in parishes and that is definitely a step in the right direction … I do think it is important to acknowledge that it’s not that we have not had women leaders in the past … Women have played a huge role, especially … as mothers, and I think in some regards that has been overlooked.”

Like Gallic, Father William Lies, CSC, Notre Dame’s Vice President for Mission Engagement and Church Affairs, agreed that there is a need for a “more robust theology of women—something Pope Francis has said; we also need to reflect more deeply on the role of the laity in the Church … Many offices within Church leadership need not be held by priests and bishops. As a Church, we should think boldly about inviting laypeople, and especially women, into those roles. The People of God will benefit when we take full advantage of the diversity of gifts.”

 

Grace Agolia is a freshman theology major. Contact her at gagolia@nd.edu